2012 Outstanding 9-16 Educator Award Winner – Laura Stiles
May 17

2012 Outstanding 9-16 Educator Award Winner – Laura Stiles

Laura Stiles is a biology and forensics science teacher at Wakefield High School in Wake County. When colleagues are asked to describe Ms. Stiles, they mention how supportive she is of her students. Ms. Stiles provides her students with opportunities to explore, examine, question and experiment without the fear of failure. She works extremely hard to ensure that learning is conveyed through various media – lecture, labs, worksheets, student projects and presentations, etc. – to ensure that all types of learning styles are engaged in the learning process. Her colleagues also mention how supportive she is of other teachers. As a mentor teacher and coordinator, she guides members in her department in improving their pedagogy as well as their presence in the classroom. She works with fellow science teachers to collaborate in understanding practices that would best benefit the student population they work with each day. She offers ideas and examples to assist struggling new teachers. Ms. Stiles takes advantage of all available resources, including administrators, counselors and other science teachers to ensure that all students are successful.